Analysts Set Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Price Target at $185.27

Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $185.27.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MPC. Citigroup lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Tudor Pickering lowered shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. cut shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 0.5 %

MPC opened at $145.56 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $46.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.59, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company’s 50 day moving average is $155.63 and its 200-day moving average is $165.28. Marathon Petroleum has a 1-year low of $142.84 and a 1-year high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.14 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 15.2% during the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 431 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Latitude Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC now owns 1,714 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. SouthState Corp grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 4,122 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $715,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.9% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,165 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,268,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Marathon Petroleum

Marathon Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated downstream energy company primarily in the United States. The company operates through Refining & Marketing, and Midstream segments. The Refining & Marketing segment refines crude oil and other feedstocks at its refineries in the Gulf Coast, Mid-Continent, and West Coast regions of the United States; and purchases refined products and ethanol for resale and distributes refined products, including renewable diesel, through transportation, storage, distribution, and marketing services.